Time recorder-



c. D. LAKE TIME RECORDER Sept. 2, 1941.

. Filed July 6,1938

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGQI.

' A'TToRNEY c. D. LAKE TIME RECORDER- Sept. 2, 1941.

Filed July 6, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 v F IG. 5.

ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 4.

UHIMIM M W ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 2, 1941 TIMEBECOBDEB Clair D. Lake,Binglumton, N. Y., assignor to Business International es Corporation,

New York, N. Y, a corporation of New York Application-111116, 1938,Serial No. 217,685

4 Claims. (Cl. 101-297) This invention relates to improvements in timerecorders and, more particularly, to recorders of the type used inprinting a time registration upon the insertion of a card.

The present recorder is designed to reduce the time necessary for eachemployee to get his time of arrival or departure recorded on his card bythe provision of 'novel automatic printing means which operatesimmediately when the employee inserts his card in a card receiver andexerts a slight downward pressure on the card. Also.

means are provided for printing on the side of the card facing theoperator so as to eliminate the time wasted in turning the card aroundto check the recording thereon, this time becoming of consequence whenthere is a long line-up of employees at the recorder around the noonhour or at closing time.

According to the invention, as a time card is fully inserted in the cardholder, a spring-driven impelling means for the printing hammer issuddenly released to cause the hammer to coact with the type elements toprint on the card. The action is sufiiciently rapid to prevent theemployee from beating the print," that is. from.

withdrawing his card to any appreciable extent before the printingoccurs. A motor is employed as the driving means and is energized as thecard is fully inserted. During printing operations the motor drives acam which has a gradual rise extending around its periphery and a deepFill. 4 is a rear view of the drive mechanism for eflecting a printingcycle.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the motor" That part of the applicant'smachine with which the present application is concerned deals merelywith the card operated printing means, the remainder of the machinestructure and its operations being described in detail in my copendlngapplication (divisional) Serial No. 320,024, filed February 21, 1940.

Accordingly, in the description presented herein the machine will beconsidered from the operators standpoint, that is, when an employeemanually inserts his time card into a card receiver I'Ili (Figs. 1 and3) and lowers it towards an abutment member I60 until its bottom edgeforces a pair of bail operating ears H8 down so as to rock bail illcarried by the abutment member I80 to the rear about its pivot shaftI18, an automatic printing operation is initiated as follows: Bail I'lloperates another ball 9 which is pivoted at each end to a supportgenerally step from the high point to the low point of the ment of thecam by the motor. The cam is driven through one cycle, during which timethe impelling means is restored by the cam to its normal position at theedge of the deep step of the cam. ready to be tripped for the nextprinting operation.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the followingdescription and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention andthe best mode, which has-been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the printing mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the card operated trip mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a large portion of the mechanism shownin Fig. 2.

designated 166 and is positioned at right angles to bail l'll. Motion istransmitted through an attachment I80 on ball "8 to carry horizontal arm"2 to the left. Arm I82 slides in a guide ill and rests against theupper tip of a latching arm assembly I84 (Fig. 2). Consequently, as armI82 is moved to the left, latching arm'assembly I84 is rocked in acounterclockwise direction so that the lower end 584a moves to the rightand trips the print. clutch assembly generally designatedltll which ismounted on a motor driven shaft 53. Shaft 63 is normally idle but isrotated Whenever a pair of control contacts 43 (Fig. 5) are closed toenergize a drive motor 45' which is connected to the shaft in anysuitable manner (not shown). Contacts 43 are mounted so as to cooperatewith the upper end 42 of an L-shaped arm 80 pivoted at H. A vertical armIlll abuts arm 40 in such a manner that downward movement of arm I10causes counterclockwise rotation of the L-shaped arm to close contacts43. Upon energization of the motor, shaft s3 drives the clutch ratcheti901) with which a spring biased pawl I900 carried by clutch disk IBM iscaused to engage when arm I84 is actuated. Latching arm I84 also causesarm "0 to move down at this time to close the motor contacts to startthe motor. A

gear rm mounted on the. face of clutch disk ma. engages with a gear I"which is fixed to a shaft Ill. Shaft I 81 protrudes through a portion ofthe frame ill (Fig. and has a cam I88 fixed to its rear extremity. A camfollower Illa rides on cam I88 and is urged in firm contactwith the camby a spring I88. Immediately after cam I88 begins to rotate, cam.follower I88 drops off the high point of the cam under the urging ofspring I88. The cam follower being pivoted on a stud Isl the other endof the cam follower will .move up sharply against the base of the hammerI82 causing the top portion of the hammer to fly toward the front (Fig.1). The hammer is pivoted on a shaft I88 and strikes a blow on a plungerI94 to force a platen I85 toward the type wheel I8 to eil'ect a printingoperation on the card.

Meanwhile the printing clutch I90 continues to rotate through onerevolution. A detent roller I98 (Fig. '2) ridesout of the depression inperiphery of the clutch disk I8Ila and as it does so it transmits motionthrough a short shaft I81 to a pair of similar arms I88 (one behind theother). The front arm of the pair bears .down on arm I'Ili to keep motorcontacts 48 closed through mechanism already described and the rear armof the pair depresses one end of lever I99 so that the other end of thislever is moved upwardly and, through a link 200, raises arm I82 abovethe tip of latch arm assembly I84. 9

The purpose of this is to keep the motor runnin to drive the printmechanism through one revolution and to provide means to prevent morethan one printing operation for each operation of the bail I'l'l by thetime card as previously described.

Briefly reviewing the operation of the printing mechanism, it is seenthat the full insertion of the card in the card receiver causes thetripping of a one revolution clutch and the starting of a drive motor.The motor, through the clutch connection, rotates a cam with a deep stepon it causing a spring-biased cam follower to drop immediately off thestep. A normally retracted hammer is sent flying forward directly andrapidly, as a result of the sudden movement of the cam follower, toeffect printing on the card. The

printing hammer and the cam follower are restored during the remainderof the single revolution of the clutch. Means is provided formaintaining the motor contacts closed for a predetermined period afterthey are closed initially by the card so that the motor will remainenergized long enough to drive the clutch through its single revolution,and means is provided to prevent more than one print for each activeinsertion of the card.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out the fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to a singlemodiflcaeffect ofthe urging means for holding the device in a restrained condition andaway from the type elements, a normally deenergized motor, aone-revolution clutch associated with the motor and connected with therestraining means, a card controlled member, transmission between themember and the clutch for engaging the latter upon insertion of thecard, a circuit for the motor including normally open contacts,transmission between said member and said contacts rendered active bythe insertion of the card concurrently with the engagement of saidclutch to, energize the motor for driving the clutch through onerevolution, the restraining means becoming ineflective under control ofthe clutch substantially at the very beginning of the revolution so asto cause a rapid release of the urging means to eifect printing and thenbecoming effective again after the printing operation during theremainder of the revolution of the clutch, and means also controlled bythe clutch for maintaining the contacts closed during said revolutionand for opening said contacts to deenergize the motor near the end ofsaid revolution irrespective of the continued insertion of the time cardby the operator.

2. A printing mechanism having a card receiver into which a record cardmay be inserted by an operator to receive an imprint, comprising, incombination, type elements on one side of said card receiver and anormally retracted platen on the other side for forcing the inserted Ycard against the type elements to efiect printing, impelling means formoving said platen toward the type elements, a movable cam in engagementwith the impelling means and normally overcoming the bias thereon tohold the impelling means in a cocked position, a normally inoperativemotor and a clutch associated therewith, the clutch being operativelyconnected with the cam, common actuating means responsive to theinsertion of the card for engaging the clutch and for rendering themotor operative to drive the clutch so as to im- 45, part immediatemovement to the cam to release the impelling means to effect printing atsubstantially the very beginning of movement of the cam. and to restoresaid impelling means to cocked position after printing has occurred.

3. A printing mechanism having a card re ceiver into which a record cardmay be inserted by anoperator to receive an imprint, comprising, incombination, type elements on one side of said card receiver and anormally retracted platen on the other side for forcing the insertedcard tion it will be understood that various omissions and substitutionsand changes in the form.- and details of the device illustrated and inits operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to belimited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a time recorder having a card receiver into which a time card maybe inserted by an operator for the purpose of obtaining a timerecording, a time printing construction including therein time typeelements and a device for coacting therewith to effect printing on theinserted card, means urging the device against the type elements, meansnormally restraining the against the type elements to effect printing,impelling means for moving said platen toward the type elements, arotatable cam having a deep step thereon for engaging the impellingmeans to restrain the effect of the bias on the latter means, the normalpoint of engagement of the impelling means being immediately adjacentthe step of the cam, a normally inoperative motor and a one revolutionclutch associated with the motor and connected to the cam, commonactuating means responsive to the insertion of the card by the operatorfor engaging the clutch and for calling in the motor for operation totransmit power through the clutch so as to rotate the cam through onerevolution to cause the impelling means to drop sharply of! the deepstep of the cam to eifect printing at substantially the very beginningof rotation of the camand to restore said. impelling means to and anormally retracted platen on the other side for forcing the insertedcard against the type elements to eflect printing, a normally cockedimpelling means for moving said platen toward the type elements, meanscontrolled by the clutch in the motor for releasing the impelling meansfrom its normally cocked position substantially at the very beginning ofthe revolution of the clutch for effecting printing and to restore saidimpelling means positively to the cocked position after printing hasoccurred.

CLAIR D.

